Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-07-08
FUNERAL IN A TENEMENT.
uNosTENTATioUS SERVICE OVER
THE DEATH OF A BABY.

Funeral of Child of Very Poor Pa
rents-A Mothers Whim-The Burial
at Cypress Hills.
A little girl in a red checked apron stood
on tiptoe to tie two pieces of white ribbon
to the front door knob of the big tenement
where she lived. 1t was in Rose street,
Just around the corner.
The ribbon was limp and old, and hung
In a lifeless way against the worn panels
of the door. She stepped back to note the
effect, and another girl about the same
age came out from door in the lower
hallway and joined her. The two little
ones were the only signs of life about the
great building, that looked black and for
bidding, with it's range of grated fire es-
capes giving it the air of barred prison.
The second conner stared at the first girl
with bold eyes for moment and said,
pointing to the futtering ribbons:
ssWhat did you do that for?"
tiBaby is dead"
ssDo you live in this house?'
stYes; on the fourth floor"
''Huh," with a sniff of contempt eve
live on the first floor and we've got a
baby carriage Then in a more concil-
iatory way: 'tMay I come up and see it?''
81 guess so," and the two children,
hand in hand, went up the dark steps to
the little room fronting on the street,
where the mother and the woman of the
next room were preparing the child for
burial.
1t was bloodless little thing, the piece
of clay the woman fondled in that inger-
ing way they have with those they love.
The mother seemed jealous Of the atten-
how, fy;o CHI no child
wanted to attend to the last rites herself.
She could not bear to have other hands
touch the little thing. No other hands
but hers should smooth the pillow for its
last sleep There was no wild outburst of
weeping on her part, and, beyond GER
tain querulousness, no demonstration Of
affection. The mother did not even cry.
She was too used to suffering for that
She talked reminiscently of the bundle of
white on the bed. She told how she
never expected to raise it; that it had al
ways been thin and sickly; that it was the
best child in spite of all that the world
had ever seen; that she knew it could
never stand the warm weather, and 1 900
little details that only a mother could re-
member and repeat. And every now and
then she would begin again and go over
its peculiarities, finding some new charm
to tell Of
SYMPATHETIC NEIGHBoR.
The other woman was sympathetic and
receptive, petting the mother and calling
her ''Dearie'' and fMy darlin'" and fit
ting about the room putting things to
rights with an air of proprietorship that
would have been holly resented at any
other time. The two neighbors living. SO
close together had been great enemies and
had fought royalty over the petty privi-
leges of the foWth floor hallway. But
all that was forgotten and laid aside now.
Pretty soon a young man with weeks
growth of beard and a furred silk hat came
in softly without knocking at the door.
He said he was the undertaken. Nobody
knew how he had found out about the
death He had book with pictures of
collins in it. He stepped on tiptoe across
the room and asked in subdued voice
whether tomorrow morning would suit
for the funeral. Then he said that for
$14 one could get beautiful casket. He
always called his collins caskets. The
neighbor took him aside and conferred
with him, finally getting the $14 casket
for $11. Then he went away, after leav-
ing receipt for the SIS cash that had been
paid on installment.
The mother took the cold form Of her
child in her arms and rocked it as she had
done so often in life. 1t had a long, white
gown, with bit of lace down the front.
She took wisp of pink ribbon and fas-
tened it at the baby's throat. The neighbors
protested that she must not do that; it
would never do. But the mother persist
ed and the bit of bright color remained.
The husband came home from work at
the usual hour and did not grumble at the
cold supper that was spread for him. He
kissed his wife in way that he had not
done since they were married. They were
loving couple, full of the truest affection
for each other, but the affection did not
often find outward expression. He sat
with his wife for half an hour and then
feeling himself in the way went down and
joined the group on the stoop. She did
not care to leave the room.
A SIMPLE FUNERAL.
He was working on particularly urgent
Job and went off with his tools as usual the
next morning. He kissed the mother of the
little one again before he left. The woman
across the hall came in early and put
things to rights. Then she disappeared
for little space and returned, dressed in
newer gown of black. She brought a
bunch of ok eyed daisies with her and put
them in the baby's hands. The little girl
who had tied the white ribbon that served
as crepe to the front door knob came up
wonderingly and felt of the flowers. Then
she took one for herself. The neighbor
and the undertaken arranged the casket,
the woman quietly slipping the bit of pink
ribbon from the shroud. But the quick
eyes of the mother saw it and would not
have the child deprived of the bit of color
1t had always loved the bright string, she
pleaded. So the pink knot rested there.
A young minister came-he was hardly
more than boy-and read a chapter from
the Bible and said few words of conso-
1ation in German. There were ten OR
twelve persons in the room. He prayed
for the bit of clay in the. coffin. Then the
undertaker's man took the coffin in his
arm and carried it down to the hack that
stood waiting at the door. The mother
cried softly to herself during the services,
and her little girl stood by her side and
stared at the minister. There was nc
hearse, and only one carriage. The man
put the little coffin on the front seat of the
hack, the mother and her little girl and
the neighbor who had been so kind to her
got in with it, one of the group waiting on
the sidewalk slammed the door, and the
carriage took its way over to Long Island
to Cypress Hills cemetery. Nothing was
said at the grave by any one. They took
the little box and put it in great grave
with half hundred boxes of the same
kind of precious dust that had been al
ready laid away to rest.
In the afternoon the three mourners
came home. The mother went up to her
room =, d the little girl again stood on tip
toe at the door to unite the fiuttering
white. She took the ribbons upstairs,
folded them carefully and put them back
in the box where they had been at first.
They were the ribbons that her mother
had worn the day she was married.
York World.
The Paper Bag Business.
Beyond those Immediately interested
there is no adequate conception of the